The Australian cricket team toured England during the 1902 English cricket season.They also played one match in Scotland and one in Wales. The five-Test series between the two countries has been fondly remembered; in 1967 the cricket writer A. A. Thomson described the series as "a rubber more exciting than any in history except the Australia v West Indies series in 1960–61".My favourite summer, by A. A. Thomson, from Cricinfo (taken from Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1967 edition). Retrieved 26 June 2006 Australia had won the previous three Test rubbers between the two countries, and now won their fourth successive series, by two matches to one with two draws. In the process they "beat the records of all their predecessors in the country" by losing only two of 39 matches during the tour, their defeats being against England in the Fifth Test and in the first of their two fixtures against Yorkshire.The Australians in England 1902, John Wisden & Co., Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1903 The remaining 37 matches gave 23 wins for Australia and 14 draws.
Following the tour, three of the Australians — Victor Trumper, Warwick Armstrong and Jim Kelly — were named Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1903, with their captain Joe Darling already having been bestowed that honour in 1900. The Australians' leading batsman, Victor Trumper, made more first class runs than anyone in the season, and of batsman with more than 1,000 runs only Arthur Shrewsbury scored his at a higher average.First-class Batting and Fielding in England for 1902 (Ordered by Average), CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006 His 2,570 runs was a new record for any Australian in England. Harry Altham wrote: "From start to finish of the season, on every sort of wicket, against every sort of bowling, Trumper entranced the eye, inspired his side, demoralized his enemies, and made run-getting appear the easiest thing in the world."Quoted in The Cricket Captains of England, Alan Gibson, 1989, The Pavilion Library, , p76.
Background Australia had won their three previous Test series against England and thus were the holders of the Ashes. The most recent series had been played in Australia only a few months earlier, and the home side had won it by the wide margin of four matches to one. However five leading English players – George Hirst, Wilfred Rhodes, K.S. Ranjitsinjhi, Stanley Jackson and C.B. Fry – had been unavailable.Barker, Ralph & Rosenwater, Irving. England v Australia: A compendium of Test cricket between the countries 1877–1968, B.T. Batsford. 1969. , p 82.
Australian touring party
Name Playing style State team Tests played Joe Darling (c) LHB South Australia 5 Jim Kelly (wk) RHB New South Wales 5 Sammy Carter (wk) RHB New South Wales 0 Warwick Armstrong RHB, LB or RFM Victoria 5 Reggie Duff RHB, RM New South Wales 5 Syd Gregory RHB, RA New South Wales 5 Albert Hopkins RHB, RFM New South Wales 5 William Howell LHB, RM New South Wales 1 Clem Hill LHB, LB South Australia 5 Ernie Jones RHB, RF South Australia 2 Monty Noble RHB, OB New South Wales 5 Jack Saunders LHB, SLA or LM Victoria 4 Hugh Trumble RHB, OB Victoria 3 Victor Trumper RHB New South Wales 5
Key: RHB: right-handed batsman; LHB: left-handed batsman; RA: right-arm bowler.
The manager was Major Ben Wardill, while the team's "medical advisor" was Dr. Rowley Pope.
Matches 5–7 May: London County v Australians
Australians (117 and 213/7) drew with London County (235)London County v Australians in 1902, from CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006
The London County Cricket Club, founded in 1899, faced the Australians for the first time, having played touring teams from the West Indies, South Africa and Netherlands in preceding seasons. Rain delayed play at the Crystal Palace Park on the first day, but when it began the South African Test bowler Charlie Llewellyn took five wickets, bowling unchanged through the Australians' innings. Captain W. G. Grace ended the innings, and was then bowled by Monty Noble with two runs on the scoreboard. However, after Len Braund's 140-minute hundred, London County had made 235, and Llewellyn took two more wickets with the new ball as the Australians found themselves at 16 for two. However, opener Victor Trumper made 64 and captain Joe Darling 92, as the Australians led by 85 runs with three wickets in hand overnight. A further ten runs were added in the 15 minutes of play on the final day, as the game was drawn.
8–10 May: Nottinghamshire v Australians
Australians (474) beat Nottinghamshire (287 and 183) by an innings and four runsNottinghamshire v Australians in 1902, from CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006
Nottinghamshire won the toss at Trent Bridge and batted through the first day to make 287. The Australians lost their first five wickets for 137, but Darling, batting at number five, made the Australians' first hundred of the tour. His innings of five hours lasted into the third day. The seventh-wicket stand with Bert Hopkins was worth 131 runs, and the eighth-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Jim Kelly a further 119. The Australians made 474, before Warwick Armstrong took career-best figures of eight for 47 as the hosts were bowled out for 183 to secure the Australians' first win on tour.
12–14 May: Surrey v Australians
Australians (296/5d) beat Surrey (96 & 122) by an innings and 78 runsSurrey v Australians in 1902, from CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006
Eighty minutes of play was possible on the first day, in which Trumper made his way to 47 not out and Surrey's Tom Richardson took the only wicket. Play was further delayed on the second day, which had the Prince of Wales among the attendance at The Oval. Trumper converted his 47 into 101, and Noble and Armstrong put on an unbeaten stand of 80 before the Australians declared. Surrey were 18 for nought overnight, but lost all twenty wickets on the final day, with Bill Howell taking a match haul of eleven for 56 from 30 overs.
15–17 May: Essex v Australians
Essex (178 & 13/2) drew with Australians (249/8d)Essex v Australians in 1902, from CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006
At Leyton, the Australians drew with Essex in a match affected by the weather. Percy Perrin hit 63 on the first day, when Essex reached 178, and on the second day only 70 minutes of play was possible, as the Australians reached 59 for one. On the third day, Australia took a lead of 61 before declaring in the afternoon, but after seven overs had yielded two wickets, play was abandoned.
19–21 May: Leicestershire v Australians
Australians (126 & 69/3) beat Leicestershire (51 & 143) by seven wicketsLeicestershire v Australians in 1902, from CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006
Ernie Jones and Monty Noble bowled out Leicestershire for 51 in 35.1 overs at Aylestone Road after they chose to bat, but Leicestershire bowler Arthur Woodcock replied with three wickets in four balls, and Australia were seven for three. That became 43 for four at the end of the day; on the second day, Jones top-scored with 40 from number ten, in a stand of 49 with Jack Saunders, and the lead grew from 26 to 75. Leicestershire responded with 143 in 46.1 overs, while Noble took eight wickets, and on the final day Australia chased 69 in 20 overs.
22–24 May: Oxford University v Australians
Australians (314/6d) beat Oxford University (77 & 183) by an innings and 54 runsOxford University v Australians in 1902, from CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006
Oxford University were bowled out by Noble and Armstrong on the second morning at Christ Church, after rain had prevented any play on the first. Batting out the second day, the tourists almost trebled the students' score on that day alone, for the loss of two wickets, with Trumper making 121. They added a further 87 to the total before declaring, and Saunders then bowled the university out, taking seven for 67.
26–28 May: Marylebone Cricket Club v Australians
Marylebone Cricket Club (240 & 280/8d) drew with Australians (271 & 217/3)Marylebone Cricket Club v Australians in 1902, from CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 December 2006
At Lord's, the Marylebone Cricket Club side captained by W. G. Grace included two players who would turn out for England in the first Test match, C. B. Fry and Ranjitsinhji. In both innings, the two passed 20, with Ranjitsinhji's 67 in the first innings being the highest score for MCC. Grace won the toss and chose to bat, and MCC made 240, but Trumper completed his third century on tour with a two-hour 105, taking the tourists to a lead of 31 though no other player passed 30. Grace took five for 29, including the three lowest-batting players. In the second innings, Frank Mitchell hit 55 not out before MCC declared with a lead of 249, and the tourists fell 32 short, Trumper once more passing 80 before being bowled by Albert Trott.
First Test, 29–31 May: England v Australia
England had selected 14 players, but left out Jack Mason, Charlie Llewellyn, who had represented South Africa in Test cricket, and Tom Hayward for the game. A.A. Thomson wrote that this was reckoned the best integrated side that England ever put into the field: MacLaren, Fry, Tyldesley, Ranjitsinhji, Jackson, Braund, Jessop, Hirst, Lilley, Lockwood and Rhodes. Australia off-spinner Hugh Trumble had an injured thumb and could not play; Australia also left out wicketkeeper Carter, and Saunders, who had "not shown bowling form" yet, having taken 14 wickets in four matches at a bowling average of 14.21, of which seven came on the final day against Oxford University.
England batted first on what was described as a "beautiful wicket", but Fry was out in the third over, caught behind by the wicketkeeper standing back, and captain Archie MacLaren was then run out for nine after a "misunderstanding". After 50 minutes at the crease, Ranjitsinhji, who was described as "upset" by getting the blame for MacLaren's run out, was bowled by second-change bowler Warwick Armstrong for 13, and England were 35 for three. Jackson then batted until lunch with Tyldesley, and had made 53 when he inside edged Ernie Jones shortly afterwards. Wicketkeeper Lilley followed, having skied a ball from Noble to Jones, while Tyldesley had the luck to survive three dropped catches. Tyldesley went on to make a "turning point" partnership with Hirst for 94 in 80 minutes, while Jessop was caught at deep cover having made six and played "very wild cricket". Tyldesley was last out on the day, having made 138, an innings described as "truly magnificent" despite the chances, including "masterly defence" and well timed cuts.
Lockwood and Rhodes added 55 before stumps on the first day, and when play resumed at three o'clock on the second day after rain had fallen during the night, they added a further 25 before MacLaren declared. What followed was described by Wisden as "one of the chief sensations of [the 1902 season]". It took 90 minutes to bowl out Australia for 36, with Trumper making half of the total, and though the light was bad the wicket was not "so difficult as to excuse such an ignominious breakdown". The Yorkshire bowlers Rhodes and Hirst bowled 22 of the 23 overs, in a manner described by the Wisden Almanack as "wonderful". Rhodes got seven wickets for 17, his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket, and up until 2004 joint cheapest seven-for in Test history.Wisden – 2005 – First Test Match: West Indies v England, from Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 December 2006 Hirst was helped by Braund to get one of his wickets, as the Somerset allrounder pulled off "a dazzling catch" to dismiss Clem Hill. For 22 years, the total of 36 stood as the lowest total in a Test match in England.Wisden – 1924 – First Test Match: England v South Africa, from Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 December 2006